Game of Divine Thrones Book 1 Chapter 2 - Base Camp (2)

"Adjust."

As soon as Woohyuk whispered the word, the armor transformed to fit his size.

It wasn't something that was at all possible in real life.

Everyone at camp was left speechless upon seeing what happened.

"Y-you saw that right? The equipment changed its size as soon as he said 'adjust'."

Even Eve seemed rather surprised at this development. 

She stared down Woohyuk for a full second with her deep blue eyes.

"Well, you still deserve the gift, afterall you did defeat the goblin all by yourself."

A small red marble appeared in Eve's left hand.

[Flint Stone].

It was an item that would create a small spark when injected with mana.

"Do you know how to use this as well?"

Eve whispered to Woohyuk as she handed him the item. Woohyuk responded with a nod.

"Here, take it."

Eve simply returned to her original position. Seeing as she didn't ask any further questions, it was clear that she wasn't going to press the issue.

Which worked out perfectly for Woohyuk.

"It is time to receive your adventurer watches."

A watch appeared on everyone's wrists as soon as Eve finished speaking. Causing a black screen engraved with white words to simultaneously appear in front of everyone.

- Status

- Skills

- Adventure Log

- Quests

"It's fairly easy to use, since we modelled it after the smartphones that you people use in your own world."

While Eve explained each category to the adventurers, Woohyuk took a quick look at his Status.

[Chun Woohyuk]

- Job: Human adventurer

- Title: Newbie

- Stats:

Strength: 8

Vitality: 6

Dexterity: 7 

Intelligence: 5

Spirit: 5 

'I can't help but sigh.'

He'd known it would be like this, but it didn't make the disappointment any less.

After all, all of his hard work had just been wiped out

'Well, at least the stats should rise relatively quickly.'

He would simply have to go and monopolize everything.

There were many treasures hidden throughout the world, not to mention the many rewards available

Naturally, Woohyuk had already begun planning the best way to get them all

"I'll hand out the supplies now."

As she gave everyone a wink, a small brown leather bag appeared on everyone's shoulders.

They included basic first aid supplies, along with bread and water.

"Since the tutorial is now over, we'll officially begin the game. The first mission is to survive here for 15 days."

"Do we not get weapons?"

A nervous looking businessman asked, causing a mischievous grin to erupt on Eve's face.

"Of course you do. Everyone starts with the same stuff."

A single dagger dropped in front of them and after everyone had picked it up, she continued.

"Please protect this base camp. If the fire in the middle where to go out, the supplies will no longer appear."

These supplies included food, without which survival would be quite difficult

"Good luck, then. Ah, also, remember that the more monsters you defeat, the better your final reward will be."

Eve disappeared back into the black portal with a wave of her hand

Almost immediately after, a horde of goblins appeared near the camp. They numbered about a hundred, similar to the amount of people in the camp.

"S-so many!"

"How can we even kill them?"

Most people stepped back in fear, their legs already trembling.

"We need to fight!"

"We're going to die here if that fire goes out!"

Some of the more muscular men started to shout seeing the masses cower in fear.

But it was clear that it was mostly bravado, and that even they weren't ready to charge the front lines

'I should probably head out.'

Woohyuk stepped forward with an axe in one hand and a dagger in the other.

He was intent on accumulating the most points in this mission.

Whoosh!

The axe flew forward, burying itself deeply in one of the goblin's heads.

The surrounding monsters angrily began to sprint towards Woohyuk

"Grr!"

Several axes were swung his way and it seemed quite dangerous, but Woohyuk managed to calmly dodge them all. 

He slit the throat of a nearby goblin in the process, causing red blood to spurt out like a fountain

'This body isn't all that bad.'

The monsters' attack patterns were simple. He could probably take on all hundred of them by himself.

Seeing Woohyuk take down several goblins all by himself, spurred others to join in. However unlike him, they would gang up on a single goblin in order to take it down.

"Damn it!"

"Die, you monster!"

Swear words could be heard all across the battlefield. A primal sense of violence began to take over everyone in camp. 

Lost in that crowd mentality, the camp descended into a gory, battle induced madness.

* * *

The survivors decided to take a moment of rest in the nearby tents. Several of them had received some serious injuries due to having been caught up in the heat of the moment.

Thankfully, the overall casualties were relatively low since Woohyuk had handled the majority of goblins by himself.

"Let's see… Hm? You guys actually don't look too bad. Oh?"

Eve made a surprised face as she stepped out of the black portal.

Her eyes full of curiosity as they drifted towards Woohyuk. 

"Looks like there are actually a few talented people here. Anyway, I'll be announcing the results of this battle."

A massive screen appeared in the sky when she raised her right hand. It was a list of people who contributed the most in the previous battle.

[Contribution Rewards]

1. Chun Woohyuk (80.3%) - Ring of Growth, Black Machete

2. Ma Gwangpil (3.4%) - Trident

3. Lee Jaesung (3.1%) - Long Sword

4. Park Gunwoo (2.6%) - Short Bow

5. Hwang Donghwan (1.5%) - Toolbox

"There will be many more chances from now on, so don't be too depressed if you aren't satisfied with the results. This is only the beginning."

Eve then proceeded to hand out the rewards to those on the list.

'This isn't bad.'

Woohyuk put on the purple ring as he nodded to himself in satisfaction

A white text displayed in front of him on the adventurer watch.

[Ring of Growth]

Type: Accessory 

Rank: D

Durability: 2300 (Unrepairable)

Effect: 20% bonus exp

It didn't directly increase his combat ability, but it was still a great item to own this early. 

The slightest bit of difference in stats was monumental at this stage. As long as he maximized the use of the ring, he would outlevel and effectively outgrow everyone else.

'Things should get easier from now on.'

Woohyuk tried waving the machete in the air a few times. The adventurer's watch displayed a new text in front of him.

[Black Machete]

Type: Weapon 

Rank: E

Durability: 1200 

Effect: Dex+3, Night Vision

He couldn't ask for a better weapon to use in the forest.

A large black blade. 

It was excellent in clearing a path through the forest and its dark look wouldn't reveal his location. Of course, the added night vision ability was an incredibly useful bonus as well.

'It was a lot harder to earn this last time around.'

He recalled getting all of these items in his first attempt, but due to the severe injuries that he had sustained from that first battle, he was never able to utilize them to their full potential. It was something that had always bothered Woohyuk.

"You may now go ahead and explore the forest at your leisure. The next monster wave will only take place this time tomorrow."

Eve said, as she finished handing out the reward to the last player.

"So is this area safe?"

One of the female students in the group asked, to which Eve nodded back.

"There will be no further attacks as long as the fire is burning. But people from other camps can still invade, so you should still be careful."

The crowd looked at each other nervously.

"Does crime go unpunished here?"

"The system doesn't interfere, so you should all just focus on getting stronger."

The businessman who asked the question grit his teeth. He hadn't gained anything from the last battle.

"Speaking of which, I'm going to give you guys a small tip. You should try to find something you're good at, and specialize in that. Oh, and don't forget to do a few challenges once in a while as well."

Eve was in her own way telling them how to take advantage of the hidden bonuses.

Woohyuk naturally understood this tip, but for most people it only added to their confusion.

"I'll take off, then. Good luck everyone!"

Eve disappeared back into the black portal.

"We should talk about what we're going to do from now on."

One of the men spoke up, holding a trident in his hand.

[Trident].

It was a decent weapon to use, especially considering its long reach.

"Mr. Woohyuk, do you have any ideas?"

The man turned to ask Woohyuk the question.

Woohyuk already  knew his name due to having looked carefully at the rewards list a while ago.

"Everyone can just do what they want."

Woohyuk didn't even bother turning around to respond, causing the man to frown.

"You're telling us to act alone? Here?"

"Yes."

The man looked at Woohyuk with an incredulous look before coughing nervously. 

"Looks like you know something about this place, Mr. Woohyuk. Could you share some information with us? Anything would help."

"..."

Woohyuk stood up from his spot, grabbed an axe and simply handed it to the man without saying a single word.

"What do you..."

"Go get more wood."

"Wood…?"

Woohyuk pointed at the fireplace.

"Ah, you're right. It would be troublesome if the supplies stop coming."

The man nodded. The base camp also wouldn't be safe during the night without a fire.

"Let's go get some wood, then! After all, this is a collective problem that we should solve together."

The man gave Woohyuk a quick glance. He looked like he hadn't given up trying to force Woohyuk in joining.

'Arrogant bastard.'

Woohyuk laughed inwardly. It was stupidly obvious how the man was attempting to assert himself as a leader in the camp.

'He was really annoying last time around as well.'

Ma Gwangpil. 

He was greedy, and would always stick his nose in other people's business. The kind of man that stopped at nothing to gain more power.

'I'll leave you be for now.'

He did have to take care of the man at some point, just not right now. He had too many more important things to do.

"Go."

"Ah, you'll be joining us, Mr. Woohyuk?"

Gwangpil looked overjoyed in an instant. He seemed to be happy that things were starting to go his way.

"Ten people including us, we don't need more than that."

"I understand."

Gwangpil immediately began to gather volunteers. 

* * *

" By the way, what abilities does that ring have?"

Gwangpil asked, as Woohyuk chopped away at the wood. 

"Secret."

"..."

The man glared down Woohyuk with a serious look.

He almost seemed like he was ready to fight, but Woohyuk honestly didn't bother with him. He knew those were just empty threats.

"Go gather some more wood if you have nothing to do."

"Alright..."

The man backed off rather quickly. He'd realized that his petty intimidation tricks wouldn't work on Woohyuk.

'He'll soon be leaving into the forest with his followers.'

Woohyuk thought to himself as he watched the man go.

He already knew where the man was headed.

'It's still a bit early to go to the Central lake.'

There was a lake that lay in the center of this massive forest.

It was filled to the brim with powerful monsters and it would be far too reckless to challenge on day one.

'Maybe somewhere else.'

There were a few other places he had in mind that would provide him with some decent items.

A hot spot, as it were, and Woohyuk was planning on exploring one of them today.

'I should leave.'

Woohyuk dropped his axe on the floor before looking around.

There was plenty of firewood all around him.

'This should be good for a few days.'

Of course he didn't cut wood for everyone because he was a good samaritan. 

He wouldn't have sat on the Steel throne in his previous life if that were the case.

'I wonder if my strength and vitality have risen a bit.'

In the early stages, exercises like this helped raise a person's stats. It was actually a terrific idea to perform some manual labor on the first day. 

In fact, In was arguably more efficient than fighting monsters to level up.

'Let's see.'

Woohyuk fiddled with the watch for his basic info.

[Chun Woohyuk]

- Job: Human adventurer

- Title: Newbie

- Status

Strength: 10

Vitality: 8

Dexterity: 9

Intelligence: 5

Spirit: 5

His strength, vitality, and dexterity all had risen by 2 points.

The strength rose from cutting wood, and the dexterity probably came from dodging the goblins' attacks.

'This is not bad.'

Although it was still disappointing to see his stats so low, it was just barely acceptable.

His skills would make up for the rest.

"Are you leaving?"

A female student asked when he took out his machete.

She was one of the people who had decided to stay within the camp.

"Yeah. I have things to do."

Woohyuk left after the curt reply. 

There weren't many hours of sunlight left in day.

'The monsters become even more violent at night.'

Also, the creatures he was planning on fighting today were going to be rather difficult. Still, it will be totally worth it, especially considering all the items he can loot from their hideout.

'I need to speed things up.'

He was still missing something if he was going to be able to keep up with the plan he had set himself.

There was no need to think about all the possibilities at this point. 

His goal was now to achieve the impossible, surpassing the limits of the human body.

With such a determined mindset, he was ready to plow through anything that stood in his way of sitting on a Divine Throne

'I'll kill anyone that stands in my way.'

Swoosh!

He swung down his machete, slicing any plant in his path.

Chapter end